Packaging element made of a semirigid material, for packaging various items and displaying them for sale

ABSTRACT

In two parallel side walls of this packaging or in panels ( 6 ) connected to these walls ( 5 ) and folded flat against them on the inside, there are tabs ( 8 ) hinged to these walls or panels by fold lines parallel to the base part ( 3 ), these tabs ( 8 ) thus being able to be folded out at right angles to these walls or panels to form separators between the packaged items ( 10 ) or to be engaged in these items, in order to hold them in position.

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging element made of a semirigid material such as board or corrugated board, for packaging various items and displaying them for sale.

[0002] It is becoming increasingly common to display objects for sale in the same packaging as they have been shipped in. These packagings are therefore usually equipped with some means of keeping the objects in position, facilitating their removal by potential buyers and displaying them in as attractive a manner as possible. As a consequence, each packaging must be adapted to the packaged items.

[0003] Consequently, in FR 2 669 893 A, the Applicant disclosed a packaging in the shape of a right-angled parallelepiped for packaging objects arranged in alternating directions, for example sheets of board supporting items of various types under a blister, the objects being arranged at right angles to two parallel faces of the packaging and resting on a third face perpendicular to the said two faces, this third face having a fold line or rupture initiation line parallel to the other two walls. Means are provided to divide the packaging into two roughly equal parts that are able to pivot freely with the objects which they contain about the fold line or rupture initiation line, in order to separate the objects, previously arranged in alternating directions, into two separate groups, so that the two parts, which may be attached or optionally separated, form display holders for the packaged objects.

[0004] That face of these parts on which the packaged objects rest, and which forms the base of these display holders, may contain tabs that pivot about fold lines and can be bent toward the interior of the packaging to form dividers between the packaged objects.

[0005] The present invention also seeks to hold the packaged objects in position in a packaging element, but with the aid of tabs cut out from two parallel walls of this element or from two panels folded flat against the inside of these walls, these tabs pivoting about fold lines parallel to the base.

[0006] To this end, the subject of the invention is a packaging element made of a semirigid material such as board or corrugated board, this element forming a tray for transporting and displaying for sale a row of identical items all occupying the same position therein, this element comprising a polygonal base part and side walls connected by fold lines to this base part and raised at right angles to the latter, means being provided to lock these walls in the raised position, this packaging being characterized in that, in two parallel side walls or in panels connected to these walls and folded flat against them on the inside, there are tabs hinged to these walls or panels by fold lines parallel to the base part, these tabs thus being able to be folded out at right angles to these walls or panels to form separators between the packaged items or to be engaged in these items, in order to hold them in position.

[0007] The tabs may be precut in the abovementioned walls or panels or consist of outlines limited by rupture initiation lines in these walls or panels.

[0008] This packaging element can advantageously be combined with a part forming a lid which fits over it. In this embodiment of the invention, a part of at least one wall separate from those in which the tabs are formed may advantageously be glued to a corresponding wall of the lid, this part being defined in the associated wall by rupture initiation lines enabling it to be detached manually from the rest of the wall at the point of sale to separate the lid from the packaging element.

[0009] Advantageously, in this embodiment, the wall of the lid that is glued to this part of the wall connected to the packaging element comprises, above this part, a cutout or notch to allow the wall of the element to be pushed in directly by a finger to separate it easily from the glued part.

[0010] The invention also relates to the precut and scored blank made of a semirigid material such as board or corrugated board from which the packaging element in accordance with the invention is produced. This blank comprises a polygonal part designed to form the base part of the packaging and, connected to at least some of the sides of this polygonal part by fold lines, panels designed to form side walls for the packaging, and it is characterized in that, in two panels connected to the polygonal part by two parallel fold lines or in two panels connected to the previous panels by two fold lines parallel to the previous fold lines, there are tabs or outlines of tabs hinged to the rest of the wall or associated panel by fold lines parallel to the fold lines by which these two panels are hinged to the polygonal part.

[0011] In this blank, as in the packaging element, the tabs may be precut in the associated panels or consist of outlines limited in these panels by rupture initiation lines.

[0012] Lastly, the invention relates to the packaging defined above and containing a row of identical items all occupying the same position therein, characterized in that the tabs connected to each of the two parallel walls or to each of the panels that fold flat against the latter are interposed between the packaged items or engaged in them.

[0013] Other features and advantages of the invention will be found in the following detailed description of two embodiments. This description will refer to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

[0014]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a two-part packaging, in which the packaging element is provided by a first embodiment of the invention;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a plan view of the precut and scored blank of corrugated board from which the packaging element shown in FIG. 1 is made; and

[0016]FIG. 3 is a plan view of a precut and scored blank of corrugated board for making another embodiment of this packaging element.

[0017] The packaging shown in FIG. 1 comprises an element 1 forming a tray for transporting various items 10 and displaying them for sale, and a lid 2 of known type which fits over the element 1 during transportation or storage of the packaged items 10.

[0018] The element 1 here comprises a rectangular base part 3, hinged along two parallel sides of which by fold lines are two single-thickness walls 4 folded at right angles to the part 3, while two other walls 5 are hinged along two other parallel sides of the part 3 and are likewise folded at right angles to the latter, these walls 5 being lined on the inside by a rectangular panel 6 which is hinged along the top by a fold line or a double score line parallel to the part 3 and is folded down against the adjacent wall 5 toward the base 3. Flaps 7 connected to the ends of the walls 5 by fold lines at right angles to the base part 3 are placed against the inside faces of the adjacent walls 4 and glued to them to lock the walls 4 and 5 in the raised position.

[0019] In accordance with the invention, tabs 8 are cut out in the panels 6 that fold flat against the walls 5 and pivot with respect to these panels about fold lines parallel to the part 3. In the embodiment depicted, these fold lines coincide with those by which the panels 6 are hinged to the associated walls 5, but the fold lines by which the tabs 8 are hinged may equally well be offset away from the tops of the walls 5, as will be seen below.

[0020] As can be seen in FIG. 1, the tabs 8 are designed to point out toward the center of the element 1 in order to fit between the packaged objects 10, or be inserted into these objects, in order to hold them laterally in the desired positions, forming a single row in which they occupy identical positions.

[0021] In the case shown in the drawings, the illustrated items 10 comprise a sheet of board folded on itself and supporting an object 12 under a blister, the tabs 8 being engaged between the folded and glued-together parts of the sheet of board.

[0022] The lid 2 that fits over the element 1 may be of any type known per se and, for shipping the packaged articles, at least one of its walls may be glued to a corresponding wall 4 of the element 1. Advantageously, as shown in the drawings, the part 11 of a wall 4 to which a wall of the lid 2 is glued is defined on this wall 4 by rupture initiation lines so that it is possible, at the point of sale of the packaged items, manually to detach this part 11 from the rest of the wall 4 and thus separate the lid 2 from the element 1, the part 11 remaining stuck to the inside of the lid 2 as seen in FIG. 1. To facilitate the separation of the part 11 from the rest of the wall 4, a notch 13 is provided at the bottom of the corresponding wall of the lid 2, underneath this part 11, and all that is required is finger pressure on the wall 4 to separate it from the part 11.

[0023] The invention is not of course limited to the case in which the tabs are cut in panels folded against parallel walls of the packaging element; rather, these tabs or outlines of such tabs limited by rupture initiation lines may be formed in parallel walls of the element that do not have panels folded flat against them.

[0024] It is this latter form which is shown in FIG. 3, where parts that have already been described are denoted by the same reference figures accompanied by the index ′. In this embodiment, the tabs 8′ are cut in the walls 5′ and are hinged to these walls by fold lines parallel to the base and situated at an intermediate level between this base and the top edge of the wall. 

1. Packaging element made of a semirigid material such as board or corrugated board, this element forming a tray (1) for transporting and displaying for sale a row of identical items all occupying the same position therein, this element comprising a polygonal base part (3) and side walls (4, 5) connected by fold lines to this base part (3) and raised at right angles to the latter, means being provided to lock these walls in the raised position, this packaging being characterized in that, in two parallel side walls (5′) or in panels (6) connected to these walls (5) and folded flat against them on the inside, there are tabs (8, 8′) hinged to these walls or panels by fold lines parallel to the base part (3), these tabs (8, 8′) thus being able to be folded out at right angles to these walls or panels to form separators between the packaged items (10) or to be engaged in these items, in order to hold them in position.
 2. Packaging element according to claim 1, characterized in that the tabs (8, 8′) are precut in the parallel walls (5′) or in the panels (6) that fold flat against these walls (5).
 3. Packaging element according to claim 1, characterized in that the tabs (8, 8′) consist of outlines limited by rupture initiation lines in the parallel walls (5′) or in the panels (6) that fold flat against these walls (5).
 4. Packaging comprising the element (1) according to one of claims 1-3 and a lid (2) that fits over this element (1), at least one of the walls of which is glued to the corresponding wall (4, 4′) of the element (1).
 5. Packaging according to claim 4, characterized in that that part (11, 11′) of the wall (4, 4′) of the element (1) to which one wall of the lid (2) is glued is limited by rupture initiation lines that enable it to be separated from the rest of the wall (4, 4′).
 6. Packaging according to claim 5, characterized in that the wall of the lid (2) comprises, beneath the part (11, 11′), a cutout or notch (13), enabling pressure to be applied by a finger against the wall (4, 4′) so as to detach it from the part (11, 11′).
 7. Precut and scored blank made of a semirigid material such as board or corrugated board, to make a packaging element according to one of claims 1-3, this blank comprising a polygonal part (3, 3′) designed to form the base part of the packaging and, connected to at least some of the sides of this polygonal part (3) by fold lines, panels (4, 4′; 5, 5′) designed to form side walls for the packaging, this packaging being characterized in that, in two panels (5, 5′) connected to the polygonal part by two parallel fold lines or in two panels (6, 6′) connected to the previous panels by two fold lines parallel to the previous fold lines, there are tabs (8, 8′) or outlines of tabs hinged to the rest of the wall or associated panel by fold lines parallel to the fold lines by which these two panels (5, 5′) are hinged to the polygonal part (3, 3′).
 8. Packaging element according to one of claims 1-3, containing a row of identical items (10) all occupying the same position therein, characterized in that the tabs (8, 8′) connected to each of the two parallel walls (5, 5′) or to each of the panels (6, 6′) that fold flat against the latter are interposed between the packaged items or engaged in them. 